Even if they are not, at least they can take comfort from the fact that the gap between inflation and real returns has narrowed. Sometimes too much attention is paid to the benefits of low interest rates for home-buyers and the plight of savers is forgotten.

The Consumer Price Index in January came down from 4.2 per cent to 3.6 per cent

That has been particularly true over the past couple of years when there has been a corrosive cocktail of low rates and rising prices.

Inflation will fall further however at a more modest pace than last month when it dropped on the anniversary of VAT rises and falling fuel bills.

Ratings agency Moody’s has put the UK on negative outlook because of weak growth prospects. It was hardly a shock and you do not need to be a highly trained credit analyst to understand that things are a bit sticky.

The firm made it clear it was supportive of Government efforts to cut public debts and once again pointed to the euro crisis as the biggest problem on the horizon.

Some say Moody’s move shows policy must change but if anything it shows Chancellor George Osborne is on the right track.

The ad slogan “let your fingers do the walking” probably means nothing to the under-30s, while the JR Hartley fly-fishing ads will draw a blank from under-20s.

Both were once familiar in adverts for Yellow Pages directories but the online generation would not dream of letting their fingers do the walking other than on a computer keypad.

Like recorded music and books, printed directories are under attack from the web and owner Yell (see below) is struggling to keep up with the pace of change.